IRON GIRL CLEARWATER 2012

They got here around 5:30....

 And they ran the five k...

 In record time...

 Ie. the fastest they have ever run 5k....

 They got really cool metals....

 And a saltwater bath for the ride home....

Val got a little wet on the ride back...I guess a boat ride home wasn't such a hot idea...

LORRAINE COMES TO FLORIDA

Cindy and I were worried that nobody would visit us in Florida...by our last count we had 20 over night guests since our arrival in January...how cool is that!...

Our most knowledgable visitor was Lorraine Vandenberg who apparently was very familiar with the night life in our area...

She took us out for dinner and drinks at several bars, including one where everyone was very happy.  (Lorraine's word)  I got pinched twice going to the bathroom.


She took us to a Bingo game hosted by Traila Park...I hate to say it about any woman...but she had to be the homeliest gal I've seen in years...(the goatee didn't help much)... 

Her partner Miss Richard was a lot better looking and danced around a lot...she was apparently in need of an operation (gall bladder I think) cause she kept dancing around collecting dollars...apparently her health insurance didn't cover it so I helped out a little...

We didn't get to see all of Lorraine's favorite places... We didn't have time for the dog track, poker club and biker bar but she promised to introduce us next year....

Escape From Wisconsin

Wayne, Janet and Jacob arrived last week for a visit. Wayne of course ran into the house, took off his parka, mittens, galoshes and long johns. He spent the rest of his stay in his underwear (which is pretty normal for northerners in this part of Florida). Here he is admiring our metals.

Jacob was amazed that we had a TV

He was even more amazed that we have a back yard.

We went to spring training in Lakeland and watched the Tigers.

Janet showed Val how to use her phone to make phone calls.

Wayne went for a kayak ride and was very excited to see an alligator in the salt water. Because alligators don't do well in salt water Wayne explained it must have been a crocodile. Fortunately several manatee showed up in the same spot (which we all saw) and scared the pesky crock away. Wayne was very relieved (especially after we made him come in out of the sun for a rest.)

We went for a boat ride and saw manatees, dolphins and a variety of birds. Wayne saw an ichthyosarus and a leprechaun ....(We decided to get him a bigger hat.).

We went to Frenchie's on the water and sat in the shade drinking beer. Cindy told a funny story about dropping her baby brother on his head and most of us laughed.

We all went out to a Steak house that specializes in Happy Hour. After drinks nobody even notices how the food tasted.
They were having a sister look-alike contest and our table won first and

second place.

We hope they had a good time but the only way to know for sure is if they come back next year! (We're starting to take reservations for next winter.)